Make Christmas brighter for Starship kids

This Christmas, our workshop is proudly supporting Starship, New Zealand’s national children’s hospital, by collecting gifts* and donations for their annual Christmas Appeal. Starship cares for children from all over the country, providing specialist treatment, cutting-edge equipment, and lifesaving services that families rely on in their most difficult moments.

Your generosity helps ensure help arrives when it’s needed most.

Funds raised support vital Starship projects, including the Starship National Air Ambulance, a service that brings critically ill children from anywhere in Aotearoa to the expert care only Starship can provide.

Children like six-year-old Emily depend on this support. Born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1, Emily is vulnerable to even the smallest infection. Twice, she became dangerously unwell and had to be flown from Gisborne to Auckland on the Starship Air Ambulance. Those flights ensured she reached specialist care in time. Now, Emily is spending her third Christmas in Starship. While her family would love to be home, the kindness of strangers brings comfort and magic to her stay, from decorations on the ward to a special visit from Santa.

Every gift or donation you make helps families like Emily’s feel supported, seen and cared for.

Thank you for helping bring hope and joy to Starship children this Christmas.

*Gifts for Starship Children 

Being a national children’s hospital, Starship have strict hygiene and safety criteria which will need to be followed to protect children from cross-infection and outside germs. 

We ask for:  

  • No pre-loved or second-hand toys please 

  • No toys with button batteries. Please check toys that move, light up and make music to ensure there are no button batteries 

  • No toys with magnets or magnetic components 

  • All gifts need to be unwrapped, so that the team can align gifts with the age and gender of each child staying in hospital. 

  • For Christmas gift ideas for different age groups and areas of the hospital visit our gift list here.

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Emily’s story

Six-year-old Emily is spending her third Christmas in Starship Hospital. She was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 - a rare condition that causes severe muscle weakness and makes breathing very difficult. Even a small infection can become dangerous for her S 

When she was three years old, she caught a common cold and it quickly became life threatening. She needed specialist medical care fast, so the doctors at Gisborne Hospital called the Starship National Air Ambulance.   Emily was flown to Starship with her mum Marion by her side to receive the care she desperately needed. 

A little over a year later, Emily caught RSV, a common childhood respiratory infection and she took a serious turn for the worse. One of Emily’s lungs collapsed and she was fighting for her life. Once again the Air Ambulance team were called to take her to Starship’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). 

“Those two flights saved her life by getting her to Starship in time. Without them, Emily wouldn’t be here today,” says mum Marion. 

With Emily needing frequent medical care at Starship, her family made the difficult decision to relocate from Gisborne to Auckland so they could be closer to Starship’s specialist care. 

Emily will be spending this Christmas at Starship and while her family would prefer to be at home, they say the kindness of strangers and hospital staff helps bring some magic to her time in hospital. 

“Last year she came away feeling very special, with memories of the ward decorations and a visit from Santa,” Marion says. 

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